Touring

Last week (Sep 18-24) I spent 7 days without a car, traveling only by bicycle with 5 of my friends. We covered over 560 miles and almost 34,000 vf of climb. We went through Gettysburg and Antietam battlefields, crossed South Mountain (the hard way!), and rode 30 miles of Skyline Drive. No car. No sag wagon to carry my stuff. Just me and my stuff on my bike.

I got into touring about 5 years ago. Touring was one of those things I said I would "never" do. Why would I want to spend all day on the bike sightseeing, travel at a leisurely pace (figure 10 mph including stops), carry my own stuff, and rely completely on the bike (and my legs and lungs) to get me to the next location. But I tried it, and well, it's fun, different, challenging, relaxing. I've seen places I didn't know existed. There's something exhilarating, challenging about tackling a 5-6 mile climb with sections at 19% grade, carrying 20-25 lbs of stuff, and using gearing just slightly lower than I would normally ride (39x29 vs 39x25). There's something fun, spontaneous about stopping in a small town along the way and enjoying a fresh-baked and still warm raspberry scone.

And it's a nice feeling to know that I could live without a car (I hate driving anyway) if I had to.

The day after I returned home, I easily slid back into my normal routine, went out for a short ride with 2 friends, and once again, realized how lucky I am.

2010 SPECIAL OLYMPICS DELAWARE

Yesterday, September 11, was the Special Olympics cycling event held at Dover AFB. Last time it was held at that location was before 9-11-01 so it was pretty special to be able to hold it there again.

This was an excellent venue. The weather was picture perfect but like most locations below the canal, there was some wind. Since I did a couple of the TTs held there back in the late 80s, most likely I had been on the road where this event was being held.

There were several volunteers from the cycling community: James Ambagis, Sen. Dave, Kristi Marinelli and her hubby and his son, Chris McCunney, and me. And of course, Amy Wise, Mark's better half! And lots of volunteers from the AFB. Since it was the anniversary of 9-11, security was pretty tight.

Several of us were assigned as escorts to the athletes out on the out and back course. Our job was to make sure everyone stayed on course, "enforce" the yellow line rule, and stick with those who needed a little more encouragement.

The athletes are amazing! They have a good time at it and are very competitive with each other.

I also had the opportunity to see the REAL Mark Wise. He's not the man we imagine from his e-mails. And I'll probably get in trouble for this, but he really has a softer side! He is truly dedicated and has a real passion for his job with SODE and the people he works with and supports. Unless you see it first hand, it's hard to describe.

Overall, a wonderful day!

More photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/waddelne/2010SpecialOlympicsDelawareCycling#

Okay, guys. When we're cranky, don't mess with us!!

I went out this afternoon to check on Ms. Spider. She was there yesterday...but today she's gone and all that remains is a very dead male!

Changing Seasons

I joined Facebook this week. I don't have a clue what to do or why I did it, but I think over time, it will become part of my routine, maybe even more than e-mail. I think it will connect me closer to people from my past and closer to my family. So, now I can go around and ask people if they're on FB and send them a request, or vice versa, to be friends.

I was listening to music from the 60s on the way to work this morning and was somewhat sorry that I would be missing my high school reunion this weekend. I'm not sure why I have this sudden urge to connect with people from my past but I do. Maybe it's an age thing. It's actually a multi-year reunion (68-69-70). I graduated from a small school in the western part of North Carolina. There were maybe 600-700 students total for all the grades, with around 125 in my graduating class (1969). By the 20th reunion (I didn't attend that one either), which seemed like only yesterday, approximately 20% of them were already dead. Not exactly good statistics. Which brings me back to FB. Seems some of my former classmates are on FB, so it probably was time for me to get with the program.

The mornings have been cooler and it's getting dark earlier. This is a definite sign...the seasons are changing. Life is still good.

Garden Residents

It's that time of the year when the garden is winding down and I start the tiresome task of cleaning it up. So, Saturday I was out there trimming and cutting and ripping out...when I spotted the mother of all spiders. It's called a black and yellow garden spider. Supposedly harmless but 100% scary. This is the female; she's probably +3" inches (her body alone is about 1.5"). Harmless I keep telling myself. She doesn't sleep from what I read. She'll eat the male if she's in a cranky mood. And she'll die after she lays eggs, which I understand are thousands. When I spot those egg sacks, which I understand are close to an inch in size...well, I think you can guess what will happen to them...

Playing the Ponies

Today was an interesting day! A couple of years ago Lorie's daughter, Kyra, got into riding ponies. This really cut into Lorie's bike riding time. So last year, Lorie got into it, although I understand she did this when she was young like Kyra. And now, her son Jake is into it. So, today, I rode my bike over to Fair Hill where all of them were in a horse show. I don't know a thing about it, but (sorry, Lorie) it's sort of like watching water boil. There's different categories and classes and age groups, etc. They walk around in a big fenced in circle, then turn around and walk the other way. There are people in the middle who are the judges. Some classes are a walk-trot-jog. From what I gather the difference between trot and jog is whether it's Western or English, with English being the trot which is faster than the jog. Some are just walking, and some are walking but being led. They go in one direction, then reverse it. Then after 5-10 minutes they stop and the judges add up the scores and award ribbons the the top finishers. It seemed the bigger the field, the deeper the ribbons go. Jake's event was a walking but led event and he came in second. Kyra and Lorie were in a walk-trot-jog event but neither placed. There were probably 10-12 horses/ponies in their event so lots of competition.

I can't say that I could become interested in this (although admittedly, I looked at the possibility of another wardrobe, especially the sparkly Western garb!) but I wouldn't mind going for a ride sometime.

MR. FROG

People collect some interesting things when they ride. Some collect medals, some collect coins or cash prizes. I collect stuffed animals. It began several years ago when I was doing a short ride on a cold and rainy day. And there on the road was beanie baby-type tiger. It was wet and dirty and looked like maybe a car might have driven over it. I put it in my pocket, and when I got home I tossed him in the washer. Good as new! Next was a black and white penguin with yellow feet. I found a royal blue pug on my way to the Savage one year. Hated the idea of carrying it, but I wasn't willing to let it go. Then I found a Super Mario doll about 3-4" high, which I gave to Mario Nappa in WCBC. It still hangs on his saddle bag. I even found a small white baby blanket with a white puppy that's part of the blanket. I found that on top of the St. Georges Bridge. I found Woody from Toy Story on old Rt. 896 on my way home from a Barksdale Ride. I noticed him on the other side of the street on the way over. Luckily he was still there on my way home. I also found a squeeze-toy type giraffe that squeaks when you squeeze it. I keep all these toys on my desk at work. You just never know when I'll need something to cheer me up.

I was supposed to ride with Mark, Amy and Karen Smith out of GB this morning. But Karen got called in to work at the last minute. So, I decided I'd head out for a ride below the canal. The plan was to head west into the wind so I could have a tailwind on the return. I was just outside Cecilton and the wind was really zipping me along. I saw something green in the road up ahead. It sort of looked like a glove so I didn't stop. But at the last minute I decided to turn around and check it out. And there was Mr. Frog. I would guess he had been out there for a while judging from the dirt. I gave him a "bath" in the washer hoping he'd get clean...but he is a frog.